Chris Offutt - Flash Nonfiction Funny survey responses

Fiction or Nonfiction?

--With nonfiction you can't make things up and you already know the story.

Is it harder to write funny or sad?

--Much harder to write funny. If the humor doesn't work on the page, it's terrible.

If something isn't sufficiently sad, all you have to do is refer to a dead pet.

Long form or short form?

--Short suits me better for humor.

But I love a serious novel.

Poetry or prose?

--Poetry? Isn't that prose with line breaks, incomplete sentences, and a lot of white space?

Boxers or kickboxers?

--I gave up undies 35 years ago for economic reasons.

I gave up kickboxing after getting kicked in the boxers.

Piece that you read and said Wish I’d thought of that?

--A history of the invention of velcro.

Cloned or frozen?

--Can't wait to try a cloned burrito!!

Book you read and reread?

--Norwood, by Charles Portis.

When writing is going well…

I'm slightly more cheerful.

Desert Island Book?

or Norwood by Charles Portis

BIO: Chris Offutt is the author of seven books,

ten screenplays, and one joke. His prose is included in

The Pushcart Prize, Best American Essays, and Best

American Short Stories. His new novel, Country Dark,

came out in April.